The late, unlamented
girl group '
All Saints' covered this song, perhaps the Red Hot Chili Peppers' most valid claim for immortality, on an EP released in April
1988, to much incredulity. The EP stayed at number one in the UK pop charts for a fortnight and also included a cover of
LaBelle's '
Lady Marmalade' - something of a standard in the world of manufactured pop, as with '
Unchained Melody' and '
How Deep is Your Love' - and an original song entitled 'No More Lies'.
Alarmingly but not unexpectedly, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' lyrics were altered, transforming the song from a commentary on the perils of heroin addiction in Los Angeles to a bland love song, by the simple expedient of removing all references to heroin addiction and Los Angeles, which makes one wonder why they didn't just write a new song. For a group which were supposed to be a dirtier, whorier version of the Spice Girls, this was a bit rich.
Most obviously, the final verse (the one that gives the song its title and refers most explicitly to Anthony Kiedis' addiction) was omitted, and the reference to 'the city of angels' was transformed into 'the city of cities'. In addition, the city became a 'he'.